Do people put too much emphasis on winning?

Everyone is not naturally adept at most things. But, the act of participating is equally important as being best at 'something', because when one participates, they become better at that thing that than they are at that craft/skill a day before. In today's society, it seems that winning is the only type of achievement one can have, however, I believe that participation should be given equal importance as winning is. In the movie "Meet the Fockers", we can see that winning is given more emphasis.

In the movie, Greg's to-be parents-in-law visit his parents. Upon arrival, Greg's father draws away a velvety curtain to reveal a wall ornate with certification that display all Greg's achievements as a teenager. No one of the certificates had 'first' on it. Greg's to-be parent-in-law are not impressed. From this example, we can see that in current time more emphasis is put on winning than participating. Greg's father highlights this de-facto when he says 'Most parents put emphasis on winning. We are proud of our son because participates.'

I have also observed that too much emphasis is put on winning in sport also. In the Olympics, the gold-winners are always given the most coverage. This idiosyncrasy of the media depicts the reality that we humans give too much emphasis on winning, The few seconds difference between the time it takes Usain Bolt to run 100 metres Yohan Blake to run 100 metres makes us believe the fallacy that if someone is better at something than someone else, then they must have done more hard work than the person who came second. This perception of ours should be changed - we should put less emphasis on winning.

I recognise the fact that winning is important because it encourages and facilitates us to strive to be the best, but it is equally important to appreciate participation. If winning is all that matters, than Usain Bolt should be only one running in the 100 metres, but the winner would never be the winner if there is no other contetestant contending. 

Do people truly benefit from hardship and misfortunes?

I believe that in order to attain what one wants in his/her life, one needs to fail many times and learn from his/her failure. In literature and in the lives of successful and renowned men, I have observed that one can learn the best life lessons from their failures.

My first evidence that proves that people benefit from hardship and failure is the life of Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie built a vast and successful empire on railroads, steel and oil. However, Carnegie's childhood was not as opulent as his as his adulthood was. Carnegie was born to impecunious parents in Scotland. However, he did not let his poor background define him, instead, he learned to appreciate the value of money and knowledge and committed himself to business. Not only did his experiences of hardship benefit him, but also it contributed to the lives of others because when Carnegie grew old, he submerged himself to philanthropy. This philanthropy bore great fruits; Carnegie founded institutions that promoted and still promotes learning and entrepreneurship. Had he not suffered the hardship that he did as a child, Carnegie would never had realised the importance of money and investment, and so would never had become to be the man that we all now admire and respect.

To establish my thesis that people do benefit from hardship and misfortune, I will know analyse the life of the brilliant inventor and investor, Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison was one of the finest scientists the 20th century had ever seen. He failed numerous times when attempting to make the first commercially available incandescent light bulb. Before he could could complete making a perfect commercial light bulb, his workshop (where he built his inventions) was burned down by a fire that also obliterated all of Edison's design for the incandescent light bulb. But, being the strong-willed man he was, Edison did not despair and continued his pursuit for the first commercial light bulb. The values he learned from his hardship and misfortune (i.e. tenacity, perfection and dedication) helped him to produce a radical product that has shaped human history.

The benefits of the hardship and misfortune that the men I wrote about above highlight the truth to us. People truly benefit from hardship and misfortune because teaches them endurance - a value that is essential for a person to have in order for him/her to excel. In the book, The Great Gatsby, the protagonist Jay Gatsby is affluent because of the inheritance he has received from his father. Because he never experiences hardship or misfortune, he is unable to realise that avarice is detrimental for one's life. His pursuit for Daisy Buchanan and The American dream eventually leads to his demise because such desires were foolishly cupid. And so again, we can infer that one truly benefits from hardship and misfortunes